The talk amongst salmon anglers all last week was how the wind was going to blow through the weekend and keep everyone off the water. Well, for the most part that was true, except for Saturday. The wind relented long enough for the ocean to calm and the boats made a mad dash to the salmon grounds - and it paid off. Once the first boat found the fish, which were in tight to the beach off of Table Bluff, it was limits of quality-size salmon for just about everyone. According to the charter boat captains, the salmon had pushed a huge amount of nightfish into 80 feet of water and were gorging themselves. True to form, the action was short-lived as the wind picked back up and most of the boats were forced to cancel their trips through Tuesday. On Wednesday, Skippers Phil Glenn of Celtic Charter Service and Captain Tim Klassen on the Reel Steel took a chance on what was forecasted to be a windy ocean and found the bait and salmon back down off of Table Bluff. Both were fishing near the 41-42-line in 65 to 85 feet of water. Glenn put six fish to 19-pounds in the box before noon doing what he loves to do - mooch. Klassen started the day trolling and quickly landed two nice keepers. With no other bites, he moved in close and put the mooching rods out. Before long he had two more quality salmon in the net. He was back at the dock at 1:30 p.m. with four nice salmon for his happy customers.

This past week has been a microcosm on how the salmon season has been going lately - one day you find a big school of fish and really stick it to them - then it's three or four days sitting at home. Once back out, you're back at square one trying to locate the schools. As soon as the boats can get some consecutive days on the water, we'll see good numbers of salmon hitting the decks.

Humboldt Bay Bar Cam

Conditions at the entrance to Humboldt Bay Harbor can now be checked online by visiting www.weather.gov/eureka/marine and navigating to the new webcam made available through a partnership between the National Weather Service, the United States Coast Guard, and the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Conservation and Recreation District.

According to a press release issued Wednesday by Troy Nicolini of Eureka's National Weather Service, the Humboldt Bay Bar Cam is pointing towards the south jetty from the north jetty, where you can see much of the entrance and bar channels. The images are ten seconds apart and are updated every ten minutes. It's important to remember that waves can be bigger than those captured on the Bar Cam, and that waves can suddenly get larger due to changes in tide and the arrival of larger sets of waves. Mariners are reminded that the Bar Cam is just one more piece of information for making navigation decisions and they should not rely on it solely to determine if the harbor entrance is safe to transit. Check for latest bar conditions by calling the Coast Guard using your marine VHF radio on channel 22A. For more information on Humboldt Bar safety, visit www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/salmon/safety.pdf. For an up-to-date Humboldt bar forecast, visit: www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/swan/

A small craft advisory has been posted through Friday. The weekend ocean forecast looks like it will be a little sloppy, but fishable. On Saturday, winds will be out of the NNW 7 to 12 knots. A mixed swell is forecasted NW 5 feet and W 2 feet. Wind waves will be around 2 feet. For Sunday, the forecast is calling for wind out of the north to 11 knots. There will be a mixed swell, NW 4 feet and W 2 feet. Wind waves are forecasted at 2 feet. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484.

The Oceans:

Eureka

According to John Corbett of Eureka's Pacific Outfitters, the clamming remained excellent through the last set of minus tides, which ended on Monday. "There were big crowds this past weekend at Clam Beach and limits were really easy to come by. The next round of fishable minus tides will begin June 30 and run through the Fourth of July weekend," Corbett added. Corbett also reports the redtail perch action was hot at the mouth of the Eel River on Saturday, even though the ocean was a little choppy. "We needed six ounces of weight to keep the rigs from moving, but the perch were there and eager to bite. Most of the fish were jumbo-sized and the hot bait was clam parts leftover from the razors," Corbett said.

Skipper Phil Glenn of Celtic Charter Service, Captain Tim Klassen on the Reel Steel and Captain Gary Blasi on the Seaweasel were all on the fish last Saturday and report the salmon caught were bigger than what they've been catching, and chocked full of nightfish. The fish were schooled up on 80 feet of water near Table Bluff and were coming 30 feet down on the wire or on Deep Sixes. Anchovies was the choice for most of the boats, but Brad's Super Bait Cut Plugs were also catching a lot of fish. According to Corbett, who was out on Saturday as well, some of the top plugs were the Green Magic, Black Magic, and the Blue Hawaiian. Corbett swears by these baits and in his boat, they've been out-fishing anchovies.

Skipper Matt Dallam, of Northwind Charters, fishing out of Trinidad reports the rockfish bite continues to be wide-open, with easy limits coming daily. "We've been getting quite a few lingcod and the blacks we're catching are a real nice grade. Dallam's big fish of the week was 22-pound lingcod taken last Friday. The salmon are starting to show up now, so were hoping to put some consecutive trips together so we can go out and find the schools. They're here, some of the private boats are getting them, we just need some time to go out and find them. The crabbing is still going well, we're averaging four to six keepers per pot." Dallam added.

Shelter Cove

According to Russ Thomas of Mario's Marina in Shelter Cove, the salmon bite slowed over the weekend, but that was mostly due to the weather. "There were a few salmon caught, but not many. The whole cove is absolutely loaded with anchovies, so it's possible the salmon are getting all the food they need. When the boats can get out, the rockfish bite is still going well, with limits the norm. The perch action continues to be good from the beach, with most anglers getting limits," Thomas added.

Crescent City

Chris Hegnes of Crescent City's Englund Marine reports virtually no one is targeting salmon, even though the ocean has been fishable. "The rockfish action on the other hand continues to be lights out," Hegnes said. Hegnes also reports the redtail perch fishing has been hit and miss at Kellogg Beach.

The Rivers:

Lower Klamath

The spring salmon bite has slowed considerably since the weekend on the Lower Klamath. The minus tides, plus a rough ocean, could have something to do with the lack of fish moving in. The river continues to drop and conditions are just about perfect. Some new fish should be moving in with the better tides.